How to make your church a home for the youth.

CN PHOTO: Denise Esther Tan

In order to grow its youth ministry, a church needs to provide a safe haven for the youth, a home they can return to. A home should have three key characteristics, namely stability, safety and sacrifice.

These points were shared by Tan Seow How, senior pastor of Heart of God Church, at the Asia Conference elective, “Dynamic Youth Ministry.” Tan kick-started the elective with a video on the growth of his church. From its humble beginnings of a mere nine people in 1996, HOG has grown to 1,700 people, of which 1,200 are youth.

What is his secret to creating and maintaining a church with over 85 percent of its members under 20 years of age? “The youth feel like this (Heart of God Church) is their home,” he said.

Stability

Youths need stability. Tan shared that the average tenure of a youth pastor is 18 months. Most teens are lost through transition periods in the church, for example, when the youth pastor moves on to other roles in church. “Youth ministry is not a stepping stone. It is THE ministry to be in,” Tan stressed. Hence he refers to himself as “a youth pastor who is also a senior pastor.”
Another potential transition is moving from a young cell group to an older cell group. That is why in HOG, there is only one transition, that is, from the children’s church to the teen church. From then on, members of the cell group will grow together.
“They all stay together, and that helps them build very deep relationships,” explained Tan. The members create bonding with one another, giving them a sense of belonging.

Safety

To unleash the full potential of youths, one cannot rely on events or programs to build a long-lasting, creative ministry. Instead, one has to create an environment where youths can step out and not be afraid of ridicule. Young people will only show their creativity within a safe environment.

To illustrate the creativity, innovation and dedication of the youths in his church, Tan showed the crowd videos on the works of the youth in his church. A common theme ran throughout the videos: the youth of HOG have a passion for their church. It is a place they love, a place where they can grow, and a place they call “home.”

Sacrifice

With stability and safety, sacrifice will naturally follow. Tan gave an example of the sacrifice of one of the youth in his church. Miaow Guan, a teenager, joined the church when he was 16 years old.

In order to give to the church building fund, Miaow Guan took a part-time job at Subway and contributed all his earnings. However, he still felt it was not enough, and hence, he sold his Digivices, a popular collector’s item for teens and gave all the proceeds to the building fund.

What made Miaow Guan give so willingly? It was the love and security given by the members of his cell group. Shortly after he joined the church, his cell group members celebrated his 16th birthday for him. Little did they know that it was the first time in his life that anyone had celebrated his birthday with him.

Other touching stories of young members of the church were shared. “Our church is a home for the youths,” said Garrett Lee, 25, a zone leader in HOG.

Tan aptly summed up, “If you pour out your love for them, they will love God’s house and have your DNA. They will be sons and daughters of God’s home.”

Image consultant expert Jill Lowe shares tips and tricks for lasting beauty.

Contributed By Joshua Chang

CN PHOTO: Lee Lin Kai

Jill Lowe, the founder and chief image consultant of the award-winning consultancy Jill Lowe International, conducted elective sessions during CGI-Asia Conference 2010 to teach participants how they should groom and conduct themselves. With more than 25 years of experience providing premium personal and corporate image services, people profiling and communication skills, Lowe shared in a lighthearted and personal manner on the principles of personal grooming and etiquette.

Lowe started the session by quoting from Genesis, that man is created in God’s image. As such, the way in which a man looks and conducts himself will reflect the personality of the God whom he serves. If Christians dress sharp and look smart, they will emulate a God of wisdom and intelligence. On the other hand, if they dress sloppily, they will give people the wrong impression of a sluggish and apathetic God. Men should dress to look like men, and women should look like women, as “male and female He created them.”

Grooming and etiquette is therefore of high importance in reaching out to unbelievers. Lowe then asked the participants to stand up and to carefully observe their standing posture. To the excited amusement of the audience, she elaborated on a simple etiquette concept that people tend to overlook. When one stands, the distance between the feet implies implicitly whether they are behaving like a man or woman. Women should stand gracefully with their feet close together in the shape of a Y, and not place them wide apart. Men should stand firm with both feet evenly spaced from one another.

The way in which a person portrays himself can also cause his value in society to appreciate or depreciate. She shared two success stories of clients who went through her course and as a result, received promotion and success in life. The audience were amazed when they saw the before and after photographs of the two individuals.

Despite the fact that the ladies made up 90 percent of the audience, Lowe invited four gentlemen up on stage to illustrate the next concept she was about to share. She posed a question to the audience; if those four were to be cast in a movie with the roles of an accountant, delivery boy, pop singer and nightclub owner, who would they choose? The crowd then resoundingly allocated each one for each role according to their hairstyles. To further illustrate her point, she invited the “nightclub owner” Lie Ming Wan, 33, to remain on stage as she demonstrated how different hairstyles would imply different characteristics of a person. The audience roared with laughter as she professionally applied gel to his hair to create various looks. The image consultant further shared different concepts of beauty.

“Lusting beauty,” the exaggeration of extrinsic values is often employed by celebrities and politicians alike to impress the masses. “Lingering beauty” is the cultivation of intrinsic values: the fruits of the Holy Spirit that will bring blessings, exemplified by the life of Mother Teresa. However, people should seek most to have “Lasting beauty” which is the combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic beauty.

Due to time constraint, Lowe did not elaborate on how the color of clothing or a person’s style will influence a third party’s evaluation of him. However, the audience was deeply satisfied with the principles that she had shared with them in the short hour.

Korean student Jeon Hyung, 22, felt that the session was very interesting as it used a fresh approach to teach image consultancy in a biblical manner. He felt particularly impacted by the fact that how a Christian presents himself/herself is important to God, and was motivated for positive change.

The eyes have it! Glam up your eyes with this step-by-step guide.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACE ANG

So you’ve looked at photos of models or socialites in fashion magazines and wished you could look like that? With this red carpet-look technique for eyes, you can get one step closer! All you need to do is follow these simple steps for a glamorous pair of eyes, be it for a night out in town or a glitzy cocktail dinner.

1. Apply eye primer over your eyelid prior to putting on your make-up.

2. You will need a brown/gold eyeshadow palette. Using a eyeshadow brush, apply the base color/highlighter (No. 1 in picture). This is the most neutral color in your palette.

3. Next, line your eye. With a kohl pencil, line the whole base of your upper lash line. Make it a slightly thicker line and be sure to cover all gaps.

4. Smudge the eyeliner using a sponge tip applicator.

5. Next, using an eyeshadow brush, apply light brown eye shadow color (See No. 2 in picture) on the lower half of your eyelid, up to just above the crease. Blend color upward, above the crease following the natural shape of the eye. Blend it near to the socket bone but no higher.

6.  Apply the dark eye shadow color on your palette (See No. 3 in picture). Using a sponge tip applicator, put the color on your eyelid as close to the lash line as possible. Do not go over the crease of the eyelid. Do not go above light brown eye shadow color No. 2).

7. Apply the socket color (See No. 2 in picture). This is a blending shade between the dark shade and the light brown, and serves to contour the socket of your eyes giving them more depth. Use a socket brush (this is the slant-top round brush) to apply over the color line; covering about half of the eye. Starting from the outer corner, blend inward, following the curves of the natural eye shape.

8. Finish by blending the edges with a soft blending brush.

9. Finally, define with eye pencil. Line your upper and lower eyelid.

10. Set your eyeliner by using an eyeliner brush with an eye shadow color close to your eye pencil color.

The Fathers Action Network champions a higher level of involvement on the role of fathers in the lives of their children.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

Fatherhood is no longer just about being a disciplinarian or breadwinner. On May 14, renowned parenthood and family expert Josh McDowell addressed 1,050 Singaporean fathers on the importance and urgency of fatherhood in today’s society. The conference was organized by DadsForLife, a national movement set up to get fathers more involved in their children’s lives. It is supported by the Fathers Action Network and funded by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. City News talks to Jason Wong, Director of Rehabilitation, Protection and Residential Services Division of MCYS, about being part of this one-of-its-kind fathers’ movement and his own take on fathering in present times.

How was the idea for Fathers Action Network birthed?
Well, nowhere in the world is there a mother’s movement because it is naturally accepted that mothers will always be there for their children. Having worked in the prison for so many years, however, I saw what bad or absent parenting, especially fathering, could do to children. When I left the prison service and joined MCYS three years ago, getting involved with child abuse, home violence, and juvenile delinquency, I realized that the common thread was, again, the role of the men in these cases.

This spurred a few of us to investigate whether society will really be stronger and kids will grow up better if fathers are more involved in their children’s lives. In a year, we were able to gather evidence that confirmed, not just in Singapore but all over the world, the fact that fathers need to be involved for their children to perform well academically, emotionally, psychologically and behaviorally. For this purpose, the Fathers Action Network was set up.

What are some of the initiatives undertaken so far?
When the movement was launched last November, we went around to 30 different locations in Singapore to distribute fathering kits. On April 1 this year, we launched the Fathers@Schools involving 60 schools, which aims to mobilize fathers to be role models to their children and to be more actively involved in their children’s school lives.

Tell us a bit about your background.
After graduating with a degree in economics from the University of Western Australia, I was first posted to the Ministry of Finance.  When the department was corporatized a year later, I had the choice of either joining the newly corporatized company or remaining in the civil service. I chose the latter, and requested to be transferred to the Prison Service.

What made you join the prison service?
I recalled the answer given by my university professor, when three of us Singaporeans who were on the Colombo Plan Scholarship asked him where we should opt to go if we were given the choice to choose a department to work in.  His response was, “Go to a place where no one wants to go.” When we asked why, he said that if everyone wanted to work in a particular place, then all the talented people would have gone there before us, and there would not be much left for us to do.  He added that if we wanted to take on challenges, and contribute to making a difference, then we should consider volunteering to work in places that not many people are interested to work in. In this way, there would still be much work to be done.

What did you appreciate most about your own father?
Even though he had to work very hard to support eight children, he managed to find the time to be involved in my life. It wasn’t the toys he bought for me (not that he could afford many), but it was the moments that we shared together, like holding my hand and teaching me to write Chinese characters, bringing me to the football field, snuggling up to him at night as he told me stories of his childhood in China. Of course, he had to discipline me on occasion and I understood that.

What is your personal approach to parenting?
The passing down of values is important, but they need to be modeled, not taught or talked about. We also need to spend time together, and by that I don’t mean just being together physically but doing meaningful, purposeful things together.

How do you think the challenge of fatherhood has evolved from the previous generation?
The volatile job market coupled with issues of job security create extra stress on fathers as they can be in and out of jobs. On the part of children, there was less external influence in the past—it was never at the scale it is today, where they can just go into a little box and have access to the whole world. There’s also more peer pressure, as their friends are subject to the same influence, which is more often negative than positive.

Also, more mothers are going out to work, and this means fathers today need to co-parent and share the responsibilities of raising the children and running the household.

What can women do to help their spouses be better fathers to their children?
While most mothers yearn for their husbands to be more involved in parenting, sometimes mothers can hinder their spouses’ involvement. In research, this is referred to as “maternal gate-keeping,” where the mother thinks that she is the one who must care for the child and the father should be out working and not at home cuddling the child.

If this goes on for the first ten or so years in the child’s life, when the mother runs into problems disciplining the child later on and says to the father, “Go and talk to your son or daughter,” it will be useless as he would not have been involved in their lives.
Therefore, mothers have an important role in creating opportunities for their husbands to get involved from the start, for example encouraging them to sign up for parenting workshops or even buying books that will help them become better fathers.

What changes do you hope to see in the next generation of fathers?
In many countries, the materially richer people become, the poorer they are relationally. If we can turn the hearts of the fathers toward their children in this generation, the next generation will be stronger and surpass this generation.

Log on to www.dadsforlife.sg for more information and updates on events, including fathering workshops.

A magical night filled with a spectacle of dazzling wonders, all in a bid to fight world hunger.

Contributed By Joyce Tan Wen Hui

CN PHOTO: Kenneth Tan

On the evening of May 29, a team of six medical students from the National University of Singapore conjured up a spectacular magic show entitled PassionTM Magic Concert, in support of raising funds and generating public awareness for World Vision International.

Led by fourth year medical student Sin Yong (aka SYROS KYRANO), a seasoned magician with eight years of performance and event organizing experience tucked in his cloak, the two-hour mind-blowing production kicked-off with an astounding visual display before advancing to the graceful and mystical aspects of its craft.

Highlights of the concert, which took place at the esteemed Raffles Institution, included sessions of interactive magic combined with a tinge of passion and a graceful touch of sophistication. All these elements came together in the perfect concoction of ingenuity and entertainment, both essential ingredients for a perfect magical night.

The entire performance garnered enthusiastic response from the audience of of 270. Unlike traditional magic shows, Passion combined modern psychology with magic. The crowd was impressed by Syros’ unique blend of showmanship and charisma. Many were particularly enthralled by his magnificent card-throwing display.

Sin, who is also the director of Passion, shared that as a medical student requiring intensive concentration and focus on his studies, love for the craft and a heart for the less fortunate have kept his passion going the past eight years.

Proceeds of ticket sales went toward World Vision International, an international relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to the sustainable alleviation of poverty, to support its fund raising programs.

Sin explained his choice for the beneficiary of the magic show, “We want to benefit World Vision International as they’ve been doing great work in striving to eliminate world hunger, thereby, giving the less privilege children a renewed hope.”

Promoting community bonding among the young and the young-at-heart through sports, music, and all things loved and enjoyed by young people.

In less than two months, Singapore will make history by hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games from August 14 to 26 at numerous venues island wide. To drum up awareness, a youth centered, carnival-styled festival was organized by the Bishan and Bishan North Community Club Youth Executive Committees and held on June 6 at Bishan Active Park, Bishan Street 22. The guest of honor for the Youth Summer Fest was Mr. Zainudin Nordin, Mayor of Central Singapore District and advisor to Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency.

The inaugural Youth Summer Fest is targeted at youths aged 12 to 35, with the objective of promoting sports and healthy living. Organizing chairperson of YSF, Alex Wee, believes in engaging youth and giving them a platform to express themselves. Wee, who is a commercial airline pilot, says his passion to reach out to young people is what has fuelled his drive for the past eight years. Together with his team of youth volunteers, he delivered a full day event packed with a program which included 3-on-3 basketball matches, beach volleyball tournaments, Frisbee and free-play archery held in collaboration with the Telok Blangah Archery club. The series of youth oriented games were sufficient to pull in a crowd from the surrounding estate.

The YSF featured three out of 26 sports that will be competed in during the upcoming YOG. With the selected sports, namely, archery, basketball and volleyball, the YECs “aim for athletes to embrace, embody and express Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.” Additionally, the committee members hope to inspire the youth to imbibe the “Olympic spirit to unite diverse cultures and people” through innovative initiatives such as the promotion of youth entrepreneurship at the summer flea market. Blog shop owners were invited to hawk their wares at the nearby amphitheatre. Bands such as Bricks To The Sky, Band 8 and Pervy Boy rocked the stage with their original compositions and alternative renditions of current hit songs.

Nordin, who was in his walk-about session, was particularly “excited when the YEC first approached (us) with this series of dynamic ideas.” He was supportive of “connecting the community through sports” and in turn incorporating sports with music to become a trendy and relevant tool to reach out to the younger generation. The mayor also hoped that with the use of such “creative platform to engage youths,” young people can begin “to feel for Singapore and be empowered to grow and develop for the future ahead.” This, he hopes, will ignite and unite the next generation, upon whom the future of the nation depends.

 CN PHOTOS: Jere Chong

The evening hit a high when Nordin put the finishing touches to a graffiti artwork spray painted by Killer Gerbil, a Singaporean graffiti artist. The novel use of street art proved to be an instant hit with the crowd. Another highlight for the evening was a series of short films and visual-jockeying presentation by students from the LaSalle College of the Arts.

Daphne Chua and Ng Hwee Leng, both 18 and students at the Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Communications, Arts and Social Sciences, were among the student volunteers present. They echoed that through “community involvement and participation in the games and activities,” a greater sense of awareness can be raised toward the social value of sports and healthy living amongst the young.

CHC’s latest album Reign draws enthusiastic responses from delegates at CGI-Asia Conference 2010.

Reign, the latest collection of praise and worship songs from CHC’s music ministry was well-received by local and foreign delegates alike at the recent CGI-Asia Conference 2010. The catchy tunes and intense lyrics also served as powerful theme songs throughout the conference.

Songs such as “Savior Of The World” and “Only You” were instant hits with the crowd and listeners. With catchy hooks to each song and rock-and-roll guitar riffs, these songs capture the passion, zeal and “all-out” spirit of praising God that the church is known for.

The feel-good, pop music vibe from the praise songs in this album prompted singer Alisa Galper, a recording artiste with Universal Music Taiwan, to remark: “You would not know you are listening to gospel songs—they are so contemporary.”

On the other end of the spectrum of such anthemic praise songs are intimate bare-all worship songs, demonstrating the versatility of music director David Yem and creative director KC Gan who wrote most of the songs on the album. The honesty and simplicity of songs such as “Out Of My Hands” and “Sweetest Devotion” tug at the heart-strings and wonderfully express the devotion of the believer to the majesty and beauty of Jesus Christ.

On the third night of the conference, one particularly memorable moment happened when CHC vocalist Alison Yap led the congregation in worship with the song “Out of My Hands” on the piano. Her heart-felt performance left many teary-eyed in the presence of God.

Re-recorded and re-mixed versions of favorites like “In Your House” and “Because Of You” from CHC’s last album Writings On The Walls round out the song list, making this latest album from CHC a must-have for every person looking not just for a good, but a great gospel album that will stand the test of time.

	Sidney Mohede, lead vocalist of True Worshippers, Indonesia: “This is the best the CHC band has ever produced. It has well-written songs which come from the broken-ness and heart of the writers.”
	Jussar Badudu, True Worshippers singer: “The compositions are simple but very touching. You only need to hear it once to grab hold of it. Spiritually and technically they are very nice songs to worship to.”
	Wing, singer-songwriter, Taiwan: “There are new elements contained in the songs in this album, such as a disco feel to some of its songs. These worship songs are different from just usual love songs in that they can touch lives more than ordinary music. I believe everyone who listens to it will be blessed.”
	Shawn Lee, top international beat-boxer, Malaysia: “I feel that there is an ambience of happiness in the songs, which convey positive emotions to the listener.”
	Will Liu Geng Hong, singer-actor, Taiwan: “The song lyrics are full of images and fit well as theme songs for the Asia Conference. I know that when I sing these songs in the future they will bring to mind my experiences at the Asia Conference 2010.”
	Matt Tsai, worship leader-songwriter, New Life Church, Taiwan: “This is an album that you can listen to for a very long time yet not get tired of the songs. The album is very ‘full’, with a mixture of so many different styles that it will really give listeners a good experience.”

CHC’s Children’s Church leaders share tips on effective children’s ministry at the CGI-Asia Conference 2010 elective.

PHOTO: Lydia Isnanto

There are five C’s to consider when starting a Children’s Ministry, namely, the call of God, a mindset of change, captivating programs, being creative and finally, putting the children’s interest first. This was what conference delegates learned at the elective “Starting A Children’s Ministry” during  the CGI-Asia Conference 2010.

Eileen Toh, CHC Children’s Church pastor, addressed the first C—the call of God. Toh herself received a rhema word from God when she was 16 years old, that she would one day serve God in full-time capacity. In 1995, she started the Children’s Church with 40 children and six volunteers.

Toh shared that perseverance is important when starting a children’s ministry. In the initial years, resources, manpower and budget was limited and hence, she used to pack her own props, pencils, scissors, and cushions from home in a suitcase and bring them to church for the children. This lack made room for creativity to flourish.

A turning point for the Children’s Church came in 1996, when Toh was inspired by the “Church Without Walls” message taught in CHC about spreading the love of God to those beyond the four walls of the church. She heeded the voice of God and started to meet the needs of children in the community. As a result, the number of children attending the church grew by the hundreds.

It was not always smooth-sailing for the Children’s Church. Toh recalled one Saturday, when the buses arrived with only eight children and the teachers and helpers outnumbered the children. Toh and her team chose to conduct classes as per normal knowing that each child was precious in the sight of God and had to be cared for. This incident taught Toh that every soul matters.

Another essential element to the ministry’s success is having a heart for children—just as Jesus had. In the Bible, Jesus raised two children from the dead and healed a demon-possessed boy. He also used children to illustrate His teachings on achieving greatness in the kingdom of God.

As the ministry grew, the weekly visitations to meet the children’s needs increased. The ministry also continually sharpened its creative edge to stay relevant to the children. A singing pop group J7 was formed in 2004, comprising seven dynamic individuals who share a common passion for singing, dancing, as well as a heart for children. J7 has thus far performed in schools and community events, in front of thousands of young audiences.

In addition, the Children’s Church produced their very own praise and worship album, First, in 2006. They also developed and published their own children’s church syllabus, Dream Factory Curriculum 1 and 2 in 2006 and 2010 respectively.

Apart from Toh, Children’s Church leaders Connie Yong and Lynn Tan also shared pertinent points with the class. Yong who has been a teacher for 14 years, elaborated on the second and third C’s. Change is necessary as a process to bring about a breakthrough to make the Children’s Ministry even better. There has to be a mindset as well as manpower change. The ministry must also be captivating for the children. She gave the example of the Children’s Church using social networking tools such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook to stay connected to the children.

Tan, who was newly licensed as a pastor during the final day of the Asia Conference, shared on the fourth and fifth C’s. The fourth is the need to be creative and contemporary to reach even higher goals for God. The ministry should include character-building, intelligence stimulation, speech and drama classes.

Finally, the children’s interest should always come first. Toh concluded the session by sharing that children are the future leaders. As ministry workers and volunteers sow into the children’s lives, they might just be nurturing future spiritual world leaders like Yonggi Cho or Reinhard Bonnke.

I was expecting another major macho fest when my husband got all excited about The A-Team. My fears were confirmed when I ran a search on IMDB for the synopsis only to find a one-liner with few details—typical of a guy flick.

To my surprise, I found the movie highly entertaining. The movie enters right into action with Colonel Hannibal Smith escaping with finesse from two Mexicans, then gathering his team for a mission, while the credits play dramatically across the screen.

The plot is quick enough to keep the audience entertained, but what really made the movie take off is the chemistry between all four of the lead actors. Hannibal is the mastermind behind the projects, a big risk-taker yet sharp enough to ensure all his team members are intact at the end of the project. Face (Bradley Cooper) is the right hand man who comes into his own at the end of the movie, executing the plan he thought up. He also provides the quintessential love link to the gorgeous babe Charisa Sosa (Jessica Biel), the captain of an opposing team who is also his ex-lover. B.A. (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) is the powerful driver who sports a Mohawk and develops a fear of flying thanks to his corkscrew airborne experience helmed by the last member of the team, loony pilot Murdock (Sharlto Copley).

The producers attempted to delve deeper into its characters with B.A.’s vow to remain non-violent, but what really worked for this movie was its exaggerated and overblown stunts that were so fun to watch. One of my favorite scenes was when they sent a 3D film with 3D glasses to an asylum where Murdock was detained—the walls suddenly came crumbling as the A-Team drove their tanker right through the wall, perfectly timed with the scene of the onscreen tanker driving towards the audience. And of course, all the mentally unstable “audience members” exclaimed  how real the movie was, drawing much laughter from the real audience.

One of Hannibal’s quote sums this movie aptly: “Overkill is underrated.”

Rating:

Certified learning styles consultant Michael Choy sheds lights on the four main learning styles for children at the CGI-Asia Conference 2010 elective workshop.

Does your child have difficulty retaining what he has learned in school? Does he/she seem to have a short attention span and tune out whenever you try to teach him new things or correct his mistakes? If so, your child may not be using a learning style that best suits him/her.

More than 60 delegates of CGI-AC 2010, who sat through Michael Choy’s one-hour elective workshop on children’s learning styles on May 26, discovered that in order for children to study effectively and to do well in school, they need to adopt the correct learning style that best suits them. Simply put, a learning style is the most effective way in which a person receives, thinks about and remembers new and difficult information.

Choy shared that children absorb information through four main “learning pipes,” namely, Auditory, Visual, Tactile and Kinesthetic. In order for a child to retain information effectively, he/she must use the learning pipe that best suits his/her learning style.

For example, a child who has a visual learning style will retain information more effectively by using mind maps or pasting newspaper articles with important learning points. Conversely, a child who is more inclined toward the kinesthetic learning style remembers movement or action better than words or pictures. Hence, it will be more effective for that child to learn by teaching others, or by getting him or her to research the study topic on his own.

Choy further illustrated his point by explaining what might happen when parents try to give a “lecture” to their children. “If your child’s learning style is not auditory, when you try to teach him, he will go into a ‘screensaver’ mode,” said Choy. Your child will not respond.

How then, does one go about discovering a child’s learning style? One sure way is by observation.

Children who are inclined toward a visual learning style tend to remember pictures and colors better than sound. They are also attracted to video clips and diagrams, and remember what was shown, rather than what was said. A child who is apt at the auditory learning style is likely to need little verbal repetition, and will be able to listen attentively for more than 20 minutes. Conversely, a child that learns best through a tactile style needs to feel things before he can remember them. Such a child will learn better by rewriting key points when studying, and by touching and fiddling with things, in other words, a hands-on, experimental approach in learning

One sure sign of a child with a kinesthetic learning style is that he/she is likely to accompany his/her speech with body or hand gestures, remembering movement better than words.

CN PHOTOS: Tan Song Kow

Adopting the correct learning style is not just important for children, but also for adults. Choy illustrated this with an everyday life example. He brought up a recent sermon message preached by Kong Hee on Jesus’ healing ministry from Matthew 4:24 to 9:35 of the Bible, and challenged the delegates to recall the healing acts Jesus did, such as “healing the masses” or “crossing the lake” and “delivering two men who were demon-possessed.”

Those who simply “saw” the acts flashed on screen found it more difficult to recall the points afterward, whereas those who sketched out the information with their fingers or used hand gestures to remember each of the acts had a much easier time remembering the information. This outcome is not unusual, as the percentage of people who can remember by simply seeing is not usually high.

Choy recommended that parents start using all four modes to inculcate correct moral values into their children from a young age.

“Advanced technological influences such as computer games and movies are using all four modes to win over our children, so as parents, we must teach or correct them using these modes instead of simply scolding them when they do something wrong,” said Choy.

He cited an example of how parents should not simply tell their children about the dangers of giving information to strangers online. They may also consider posting relevant educational articles and videos on their Facebook pages, which may appeal more to their children.

Summing up the workshop session, Choy said that children may be profiled to determine their learning styles from as young as 10 years old. He further emphasized that if the correct learning style could be identified early, any child can grow up to be a genius.

For more information, log on to www.activeintelligence.net.